One thing that is nails on chalkboard to me is when I hear my fellow nurses use double negatives and other blatant grammar mistakes. I'm speaking of English as a first language, domestically born and raised people.
I feel as this detracts from the professional image of nursing. We are supposed to be educated professionals. Poor grammar makes nursing look like a blue collar trade to those who are educated, such as our physicians and many members of the public.
Let me clarify that I don't harshly judge the intelligence or moral character of people with poor grammar. But, I feel strongly that nurses should project an image of being educated professionals in our speech and demeanor. Thanks for reading.
"its" is a possessive, as in the sentence, "the truck lost its muffler as it entered the pothole-laden kennedy expressway." this is the rare case in which a possessive term does not take an apostrophe.
"it's" is the contraction of "it is," as in the sentence, "it's best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." in formal writing, however, one generally should not use contractions. thus, the better formulation of the sentence above would be: "it is best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." "its'" is not a word and is a logical impossibility. the word "it" is a singular pronoun. it therefore has no plural possessive form at all. as noted above, the singular possessive form of "it" is "its."
"its" is a possessive, as in the sentence, "the truck lost its muffler as it entered the pothole-laden kennedy expressway." this is the rare case in which a possessive term does not take an apostrophe.
"it's" is the contraction of "it is," as in the sentence, "it's best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." in formal writing, however, one generally should not use contractions. thus, the better formulation of the sentence above would be: "it is best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." "its'" is not a word and is a logical impossibility. the word "it" is a singular pronoun. it therefore has no plural possessive form at all. as noted above, the singular possessive form of "it" is "its."
um, we're in agreement. i said, "try convincing people there's no such word as its,' meaning that it's a tough sell. when i was doing more editing, i would run across this gem from time to time and have to 'splain that the possessive form of it is its. no apostrophe. to some, that just seemed wrong. kind of like the pulmonary artery carrying unoxygenated blood.
Even worse that "Would have went," is "Would of went." When I hear or read that, my hands start to twitch a little and flex into a nice strangulation position. I have to walk away.
Even worse that "Would have went," is "Would of went." When I hear or read that, my hands start to twitch a little and flex into a nice strangulation position. I have to walk away.
Oooh, you hit on another peeve of mine. This one comes from translating sloppy spoken pronunciation of "have" into an entirely different written word - "of." I've just started seeing this written in the last year or so, and I think it may well be an advance signal of The End.
Oooh, you hit on another peeve of mine. This one comes from translating sloppy spoken pronunciation of "have" into an entirely different written word - "of." I've just started seeing this written in the last year or so, and I think it may well be an advance signal of The End.
You mean the End of the World? Will people with atrocious grammar be Left Behind?
the purpose of "an" vs "a" is to ease pronunciation when the indefinite article ("a") is followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound.
since "rn" begins with a word that has a vowel sound ("are"), it is preceded by "an" instead of "a."
since "cpa" begins with a word that does not have a vowel sound ("cee"), it is preceded by "a."
i'm trying to remember where i learned this.......i think it was high school english. i'll try to see if i can find something to support the info, but that is how i remember learning it.
ahhhhh!!! thank you! i didn't think it had anything to do with rn being a recognized title. that makes so much more sense to me! i know it sounded strange... but i couldn't find any information telling me "a rn" was wrong!
thanks to everyone else for your insight too! i feel so much smarter today... lol
ok, admittedly i am very weak with the use of apostrophes.
if i refer to the smiths truck, there wouldn't be an apostrophe after the "s", indicating its possessive form?
(again, i just wanted to put an "s" after "its")
or would it be the smith's truck?
or, the smiths truck?
i always thought an apostrophe followed by an s ('s) was a contraction, i.e., "karen's going to the play tonight".
so then, the smith's truck wouldn't be correct then...or would it?
anyone?
leslie
There's the contraction apostrophe (that I just used). And there's the possessive apostrophe, as in Smith's truck, meaning the truck of Mr. Smith. Or Smiths' truck if it belongs to more than one Smith. The apostrophe is inserted before the "s" if one person or entity owns something, and after the "s" if the object belongs to a group.
Collective nouns--children, people--act like single owners and have the apostrophe before the "s." Children's Hospital. People's Court.
A rare exception is something belonging to it. That cat liked to have its belly rubbed. No apostrophe, and this really jars some people. Its' is not a word.
Two very good (and entertaining) books on punctuation and usage are:
"Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation," by Lynne Truss
and, "Lapsing Into a Comma," by Bill Walsh.
I like my learning sprinkled liberally with humor.
What about "irregardless"? This one double negative word gets on my nerves so much and I hear it everywhere. :angryfire
And, in written form, "Am" when someone really means "I'm."
What do I do that gets on my own nerves?
I say this constantly: "I can't hardly wait."
That's a double negative sentence. Boo me.
I'm not very good at formatting sentences or paragraphs correctly unless I spend hours editing. (You can probably tell by my posts.)
I'm sure there's more.
On a side note, does anyone have a problem starting a sentence with a conjunction? I was taught never to do it; however, I do it anyway. But (hehe) I try not to not overdue it. Anyone?
On a side note, does anyone have a problem starting a sentence with a conjunction? I was taught never to do it; however, I do it anyway. But (hehe) I try not to not overdue it. Anyone?
That used to be the rule. But the rule is a little stretchier than it used to be.
Language is a fluid medium. It's always changing and adapting. And there are talented writers who break rules with panache and make English stand on its head to our delight.
Context determines much. There's a huge difference between a conversation over pizza and beer and an academic article. Creative endeavors can dance a bit, while recipes and road instructions need to march with more order.
My rule for breaking rules is that it shouldn't be done out of ignorance but by an informed choice that another higher rule applies. I'll cometimes slip in a comma that isn't technically required if it provides clarity. In matters of emphasis, I might add extra bells and whistles To. Make. A. Point. Occasionally, doing something that's not "by the book" can illustrate an idea, liketheconceptofrunningwordstogetherbeingconfusing.
It's okay to play with language. It's not okay to be satisfied with sloppy usage. Still, I suppose poor communication is better than no communication at all. I would never intentionally embarrass anyone over improper usage--written or verbal--though I do edit on request. Even then, I try to be gentle--a hedge against the times I make my own mistakes.
This consideration is why a thread like this is a wonderful outlet and a great relief for many of us, but the mod staff tends to frown on the grammar and usage police showing up willy-nilly on threads where language is not the topic. It can be distracting and embarrassing. In cases of very poor language skills (to the point where the meaning is unclear) we will sometimes PM the poster and ask them to perhaps have someone help them to clarify what they are trying to say.
As you can tell by my screenname, the written word is a part of my identity.
the purpose of "an" vs "a" is to ease pronunciation when the indefinite article ("a") is followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound.
since "rn" begins with a word that has a vowel sound ("are"), it is preceded by "an" instead of "a."
since "cpa" begins with a word that does not have a vowel sound ("cee"), it is preceded by "a."
i'm trying to remember where i learned this.......i think it was high school english. i'll try to see if i can find something to support the info, but that is how i remember learning it.
thanks for explaining this further. it never occurred to me that anyone would ever think that i was suggesting that "an" be used before "rn" because it was a title. rather, i was saying that when you see rn written, (or are saying "rn"), you do not need to treat it as if it were the words "registered nurse", because "rn" is appropriate - it is a title. therefore, you read it as it as it is written: "are enn", and would use "an" not "a". never did i say that before any title would you use "an"...
FireStarterRN, BSN, RN
3,824 Posts
actually, one does not use an apostrophe in the possessive form of it. read this explanation.
http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/lwtapossessives.htm
3. how to distinguish "its" and "it's."
"its" is a possessive, as in the sentence, "the truck lost its muffler as it entered the pothole-laden kennedy expressway." this is the rare case in which a possessive term does not take an apostrophe.
"it's" is the contraction of "it is," as in the sentence, "it's best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." in formal writing, however, one generally should not use contractions. thus, the better formulation of the sentence above would be: "it is best not to question the judge's knowledge of the laws of evidence in open court." "its'" is not a word and is a logical impossibility. the word "it" is a singular pronoun. it therefore has no plural possessive form at all. as noted above, the singular possessive form of "it" is "its."